Fading velocity and mounting fatigue for Milwaukee Brewers’ hard-throwing ace Jacob Misiorowski have sparked urgent calls to rest the young phenom before the postseason.
Jacob Misiorowski remains the centerpiece of the Milwaukee Brewers’ rotation, but his recent workload and declining velocity have created concerns with October approaching.
Those concerns began nearly a month ago, when analysts noticed Misiorowski was relying more heavily on his off-speed pitches.
The pattern continued in subsequent starts as his fastball velocity consistently dipped.
Cause for concern?
Misiorowski remains the hardest-throwing starting pitcher of all time, but the fastball that regularly reached 103 miles per hour has more often sat around 101 or 100.
Former MLB pitcher Jake Peavy, a two-time World Series champion, believes Milwaukee needs to take the warning signs seriously.
Peavy pitched 15 seasons, recorded 2,207 strikeouts in 2,377 innings over 388 games (377 starts) with the San Diego Padres, Chicago White Sox, Boston Red Sox and San Francisco Giants. He won the 2007 National League Cy Young Award with the Padres.
During an appearance on MLB Now, he warned that once fatigue began affecting him during his career, taking only one or two weeks off did not always restore everything he had lost.
Peavy believes Milwaukee should consider skipping one or two of Misiorowski’s starts to get him fresh again.
He also argued that a healthy Misiorowski gives the Brewers a legitimate chance to win the World Series and that Milwaukee may ultimately need to ride its ace heavily during a postseason run.
“In my career, once I started leaking oil, it was hard for me to even take a week or two off and get what I had back, if it was over usage,” Peavy said.
“They’ve got to skip him a start or two and get him feeling fresh again. If he’s fresh, they can win the World Series...to win a World Series, you have to ride this guy," Peavy continued.
"If they’re going to make the run they’re making, it’s going to have to be on the back of Misiorowski. Not to put too much on the young man, but this is just how you win. You’ve got to get him healthy, rested, let’s go.”
The concern is understandable.
Misiorowski has not looked quite the same since August began, and he has already more than doubled his MLB pitch count.
October also changes how pitchers are used.
Starters accustomed to pitching once a week can suddenly be asked to work every few days as teams shorten rotations and become more aggressive with their best arms.
That creates an unusual situation with Misiorowski.
There has never been another starting pitcher quite like him, making it difficult to know exactly how repeatedly throwing seven innings of triple-digit fastballs affects the body over a full season.
Milwaukee has enough surrounding pitching depth that giving him additional rest could be worth the risk, even if that meant missing his next three starts.
Misiorowski’s value
Misiorowski iș 14-5 with a 1.97 ERA and 0.79 WHIP in 155 innings over 26 starts this season. He’s recorded 227 strikeouts against 39 walks.
His greatest weapon remains the overwhelming power of his arsenal.
Few starters can create the same level of discomfort with pure velocity, but what makes Misiorowski especially dangerous is that hitters cannot simply prepare for the fastball.
His off-speed pitches give him another way to disrupt timing and prevent opponents from sitting on premium velocity.
He also pitches with aggression and confidence, traits that become even more valuable in October.
The Brewers need that version of Misiorowski at full strength.
Protecting his freshness now could ultimately matter more than squeezing a few extra regular season starts out of him.
